Prince Harry Is Still Haunted by the Memories of His Mother's Funeral

Prince Harry’s wild-child days are over—and he’s opening up about what he wants to do now. In a wide-ranging interview with Newsweek, Prince Harry said he’s attempting to “make something” of his life while maintaining some semblance of a normal routine. All the while, he’s still trying to process the death of his mother, Princess Diana, and carry on her important legacy.

He said that looking back, he shouldn’t have been mourning his mother in such a public way during her funeral, and says that moment just added to his trauma. “My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television,” he said. “I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

IMAGE GETTY

Harry added that one of his mother’s biggest lessons was to maintain some semblance of an “ordinary” life. “People would be amazed by the ordinary life William and I live. I do my own shopping,” he said. “Sometimes, when I come away from the meat counter in my local supermarket, I worry someone will snap me with their phone. […] Even if I was king, I would do my own shopping.”

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

The trauma from his mother’s death contributed to his rebellious streak when he was younger, and he still wishes he could be “something other than Prince Harry.” He said his time in the military was the perfect “escape” for him, and he still greatly misses being on the battlefield. Now, he’s focused on his charity work. “I feel there is just a smallish window when people are interested in me before [William’s children] take over, and I’ve got to make the most of it.”

At this point, he, his brother Prince William, and his sister-in-law Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are trying to bring the monarchy into today’s world. And they view their position as a duty, not an ambition. “We are involved in modernizing the British monarchy. We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people," he said. "Is there [anyone in] the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time.”